Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Revealing history through participation


 
An 1850s ad seeking the return of a runaway slave to a Maryland plantation. Credit Swann Auction Galleries


An article in the New York Times about emerging databases that are utilizing runaway slave ads, has led me to these two interesting learning opportunities:

The first is “Freedom on the Move” through Cornell University. It involves a crowd-sourcing opportunity to verify the accuracy of primary source ads and to tag them with relevant information; perhaps a high-school exercise with an element of community service.

The other is “Pretends to be Free” from Historic Hudson Valley. Students read a selection of runaway slave ads and the accompanying classroom activities include creating an illustration, writing an ad based on the description of a classmate, and discussions based on a close reading of the sources.

These opportunities strike me as adaptable for entire classes or as alternative opportunities for select students.

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